Romance Your Ego
by lalik47
Summary: Chloe didn't like it when Beca complimented that obnoxiously gorgeous German woman. At all. And she does not like the jealousy it awakes within her. Especially because Beca and her are nothing. Right?


**Dislcaimer: I don't own Pitch Perfect 2 or it's characters. I'm merely borrowing them for the time being. Also, kind of AU. Reviews are appreciated. :)**

* * *

 _Time waits for no one,_

 _So do you want to waste some time?_

 _Illuminated – Hurts_

* * *

Chloe lets out a tiny moan escape her lips against her will. This is bad. This isn't okay. This is so wrong. Well, not precisely bad. Beca is very talented with her mouth (and her tongue too, but Chloe trends to keep those gory details to herself) and it is extremely impossible to keep quiet when said mouth is doing wonders on her skin, even when they had agreed that to ensure that their arrangement worked smoothly they'd not, for the life of them, make loud sounds when doing whatever it is that they do.

This wasn't supposed to happen, that's what makes it wrong. And not okay. And bad. She was supposed to be mad, furious even. The way Beca had flirted with that German woman with flawless skin and cinnamon-smelling sweat! So outrageous. It had made her insides burn with jealousy and an intense desire to wipe that smile off the German chick's face. Then she remembered that said woman is ten times taller than Beca and five times taller than her, which is why resorting to violence would be the most unwise thing to do.

The reminder of the compliments that Beca shamelessly threw at that woman's face is enough to make Chloe push Beca away a little, a pout forming on her lips.

"Chlo? Did I bite you again? Is everything okay?"

The concern in Beca's voice is almost enough to wipe the pout off Chloe's face and replace it with a smile (because a concerned Beca is always adorable). _Almost._ She absolutely refuses to let go of the issue just because her friend (friend with benefits? Girlfriend? Fuck buddy?) is concerned.

"No, not everything is okay." She responds truthfully, almost pouting again (key word: _almost_ ) when Beca backs away completely, clearly wanting Chloe to be comfortable enough to speak more freely. Although, admittedly enough the bathroom isn't the most comfortable of places to have sex in. Not when they are not supposed to be in it at one am in the morning and hoping that their fellow Bellas wouldn't overhear them. "Why did you say all those things?"

Beca looks puzzled (in a cute way) and raises an eyebrow. "What things?"

"Those things. You told that- that German woman that her sweat smelled like cinnamon and that her skin was so soft." Chloe specially hated that part. Her skin is soft too! And Beca's able to verify that many, many times. "Why did you say those things?"

Beca, once more, continues to look at her with that bemused expression of hers, until realization dawns on her (it can be the sun, though Chloe's sure that it doesn't rise so early).

"They slipped out."

 _They slipped out?!_ Of course. Because sweet compliments like those always slip out of a person's mouth whenever they meet someone _. Of course._

"Just like that?"

Beca nods, running a hand through her hair, possibly to flatten it a little. "Yeah. I mean, her skin really was soft and her sweat smelled like freaking-"

Chloe holds up a hand at that, not wanting to hear all about that German woman's evident perfection.

"Do you think my skin is soft?" She asks bluntly, crossing her arms and ignoring Beca's smirk. _That little jerk._

"Chlo, really? Is this what this is all about?" Beca enquires, leaning against the wall with a- is that a delighted expression Chloe's seeing?

"What that's supposed to mean?" Chloe huffs, indignantly so, and checks quickly (out of reflex, mostly) the spot on her neck Beca had previously been sucking on. _No sign of a hickey, great._

"Are you jealous?"

The question throws her aback so hard that Chloe forgets all about checking for more prominent hickeys on her neck.

Jealous? Yes. Will she admit it? Certainly not. Never. Beca would have a field trip with that, and the last thing Chloe needs (on top of everything they are going to face at the Worlds) is a gloating Beca laughing at her petty jealousy.

"As if! Me? Jealous? No. No. No. No. No." She responds, avoiding making eye contact with the brunette whatsoever. She's not very good at lying, and Beca knows that.

"Really? Five nos?" Beca seems to be enjoying herself. A lot.

Chloe sighs. Maybe it is evident in her face? Maybe her face has been green from jealousy since their encounter with DSM and she hadn't noticed?

"Okay. I believe you." Beca ends up saying after a pregnant pause, reaching out to tuck a strand of loose hair behind Chloe's ear. "You don't have any reason to be jealous, you know. That German chick's got nothing on you."

What good would it do to admit she's jealous, anyway? It's not like she has a right to be. They agreed on that. They'd be each other's warm body for the night, helping the other get rid off the imminent stress they face daily as co-captains and that's all. And yes, Chloe would occasionally give Beca back-rubs when the brunette needs them and Beca would massage her feet in return.

 _Wait._ Did Beca really say what Chloe heard (hopes) she said?

Chloe opens her mouth to say something when a sudden knock on the doors makes her close it again, successfully startling both of them. Beca lets out a barely audible, "Fuck."

 _Fuck indeed._

They stare at each other in panic, not knowing what to do. They hadn't prepared for this, foolishly as it sounds.

"Aca-bitch, the kraken needs to use the bathroom ASAP!" Calls out the person at the other side of the door, and Beca immediately takes the reins of the situation.

"Amy, can't you just use the one downstairs?" The brunette suggests, taking a hold on Chloe's hand (both their hands are shaking) as a way to assure her that everything will be okay, that she's got it covered.

"It's an emergency. I can feel the kraken roaring."

Chloe has to cover her mouth with her free hand to keep herself from giggling.

"Ask the kraken to keep it down and go downstairs. I'm- in the middle of something important."

They can hear Amy drawing her breath, perhaps understanding creeping in her brain.

"Say no more. Now I know what you do with those pictures of the ginger when no one's looking. Enjoy!"

Amy's footsteps creak as she walks away from the bathroom, leaving a blushing and mortified Beca half-heartedly holding Chloe's hand.

"What pictures?" Chloe questions, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "

"Nothing. She's- She's talking about my pictures of Emma Stone. You know, she's hot and all. And her eyes are wow."

Chloe rolls her eyes at that. _Of course_.

"We better go to our rooms." Beca says quickly, letting go off Chloe's hand and pulling the door open slightly, checking to see if the coast is clear before motioning for Chloe to walk out of the bathroom first.

"Wait, we didn't finish talking about how that German chick's got nothing on-" And that's when Beca clasps a hand on her mouth, effectively silencing her just as they pass Stacie's bedroom.

"Can we forget about it?" Beca almost practically begs once they're outside Chloe's room, her eyes trained on the doorknob.

"Forget about it? But what you said was so sweet I can't-" Again with the silencing. So rude.

"It slipped out. It was nothing. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" And off Beca runs to the safety of her own room, now leaving a mortified and hurt Chloe behind.

* * *

They don't see each other the following day, though. Not much at least. Chloe's positive that Beca's is attempting to avoid her. And she's doing a fantastic job at it.

Beca's never alone, often seeking the company of Amy and Cynthia Rose, leaving Chloe to sulk in a corner for ten minutes straight (in a corner where no one sees her, of course). The only one more concerned about the fact that they are not talking is Emily, for some bizarre reason. Chloe decides to ignore that.

What about the fact that Beca has to show her her new mixes? And the dance moves Chloe's supposed to teach her? The fact that they vowed to beat DSM together with their brilliant ideas an amazing teamwork? Their backrubs? Their feet rubs? Their thing? (Chloe isn't sure anymore what to call it). What about their _deal_? Chloe's retorted to pull a Beca and use photos as an inspiration, otherwise she'd go insane. Absolutely and completely insane. Who knew she'd become so addicted to Beca's lips?

The sulking doesn't last very long (she's Chloe Beale, darn it), because at long last, Chloe's able to corner Beca one day, when Amy leaves their room to call her boyfriends (presumably to dump them for a new catch, whoever that may be).

"You have nowhere to run!" Chloe announces proudly as she slips into Beca's and Amy's room, grinning triumphal.

Beca nearly jumps off her bed, her headphones killing her effort. "Shit." She mutters to herself, removing her headphones and carefully placing them on the bed before addressing Chloe completely. "Chlo, hey! What's up?"

"What's up?" Seriously, the nerve of this girl… "I'll tell you what's up!"

And she starts ranting, ignoring the blank look on Beca's face.

"You've been ignoring me for six days! And yes, I've counted them! You've been avoiding me like the plague and pretending I don't exist! You know how hard it is to live like that when I had grown used to sharing a piece of toast with you in the morning and sharing blankets whenever it got cold during our movie nights? And don't get me started on the sex! I didn't use to be so addicted to it before you! It's your fault! And you know what else is up? The fact that you seem to not care about me anymore! You don't care if you avoiding me hurts, do you? It does, FYI! It does hurt!"

She takes a pause to breathe to try to calm herself down, ignoring Beca's attempt at speaking (she's merely making fish noises).

"You want to know something? Fine. Yes. I was jealous. You complimenting the German chick so unabashedly made me jealous. Dead jealous. I got drunk on jealousy! And yes, I'm referencing a Taylor Swift song, it is necessary in times such as these!" Chloe starts pacing back and forth then, not bearing to look at Beca any longer in fear that she may start crying. "You don't get it, do you? How awful it is to feel jealous when I know there's nothing to be jealous about because you and I are nothing more than just very close friends who sometimes have sexual intercourse with each other to avoid passing out due to all the stress. You know what jealousy symbolizes? It means that you're afraid of losing something very dear to you at the hands of another. The problem is, I clearly lost something very dear to me at the hands of yourself and yourself only! And yes, that very dear thing is you."

Beca looks at her intently, as if wanting confirmation that Chloe's done rambling. When the redhead doesn't speak any more or adds something else, she stands up from her bed, wrapping a hand around Chloe's wrist to keep her from pacing any longer.

"I do care if me avoiding you hurts… I do care, Chloe. I'll always care." She murmurs so softly that Chloe has to fully turn around to hear her properly. "I'm so sorry. I'm an asshole."

"Only a little." Chloe blurts out before she can even stop herself, to which Beca chuckles.

"I am, don't try to sugar coat it." Beca sits down on her bed, dragging Chloe with her as she speaks, "You're very dear to me, too. So fucking much that these past few days have been hell- I know it doesn't seem like it, don't look at me like that." She takes a deep breath to steady herself, something Chloe can relate to very well before continuing, "I guess I was just afraid."

 _Afraid?_

"Of what?" Chloe questions quietly, fighting back the need to take Beca's hand in her own and intertwine their fingers. She's still pissed, after all.

"Of you." Beca whispers (to Chloe's astonishment), looking down at her lap. "Of this not just being us having sexual intercourse to avoid passing out due to all the stress. I did not intend to make you jealous with all the things I said to that enormous German chick. I'm so sorry, Chloe."

"This is not just us having sexual intercourse then?" Chloe mumbles, scooting closer to Beca, who scoots closer in return.

"Exactly. And I can't believe you actually made me use those words."

"I did not make you use them."

"You did. With those blue eyes of yours."

"Your eyes are also blue."

"Yours are prettier. They are the color of the freaking sky on a beautiful spring day. Your face is basically a ray of sunshine, coming to think of it. And your body is simply a masterpiece."

"Becs?"

"Yes?"

"Take off my clothes."

"Okay. And Chloe?"

"Yes?"

"Your skin is as soft as silk. Softer than the German chick's skin by far."

…

"Just take my clothes off, Mitchell."

* * *

Later on, Fat Amy arrives only to find 'Bloe' cuddling in Beca's bed, covered in sheets and tangled up in each other's arms.

"I knew it!"


End file.
